Outdoor cooking, often referred to as barbecue cooking, is generally accomplished using portable gas grills or portable grills fired from burning charcoal. Many of these grills have a fire box designed to accept charcoal or, in the case of gas grills, designed to accept a gas burner with an overlaying grid on which ceramic or lava briquettes are placed for spreading heat. A grill comprising an open grid structure seats adjacent the top of the fire box for supporting food products above the heat source (gas burner or charcoal) in the fire box. Some apparatus include means for raising and lowering either the grill or the heat source to thereby provide some control of heat applied to the food providers. Gas grills generally have gas regulators for controlling heat. In addition, many grills include covers which define a cooking chamber enclosing the grill and are particularly useful in "smoking" the food products to create a smoked flavor.
When the above described apparatus is used in outdoor cooking, a large amount of heat is generated and accompanied by significant volumes of smoke. The person using the apparatus is subjected to this heat and smoke whenever it is necessary to tend the apparatus, often resulting in singed eyebrows, watering eyes, and burned fingers. Thus, it is desirable to provide a method and apparatus for outdoor cooking which minimizes the heat and smoke problem.
The aforementioned apparatus is generally limited to cooking as either a grill, i.e., over direct heat, or as a smoker, i.e., with a closed cover. Often, however, it is desirable to cook some foods which are more properly baked, such as breads. Thus, it is desirable to provide a method and apparatus for using such portable grills in a baking mode.
Another disadvantage of the aforementioned cooking apparatus is that the spacing between the cooking surface, i.e., the grill, and the combustible material in the fire box is generally such that flare-ups caused by grease drippings extend around and above the food being cooked. While such flare-ups are commonly undesirable because of charring or blackening of the food, it has more recently been shown that various carcinogens may be concentrated in such grease drippings and transferred to the food by such flare-ups. Thus, it is desirable to provide a method and apparatus which minimizes flare-ups which can reach the food being cooked.